Reviews by BeerBuddy2122:

More User Reviews:

A - No pop when the cork comes out. Yep, completely still, but a still a beautiful ruby color.

S - Cherry is definitely the dominant aroma. Both sweet cherry and some nice tart notes. There is some slight funk, but it is definitely subdued for the style, especially for Hanssens. Maybe not that complex, but I thought it smelled delicious.

T - More tart than the nose would suggest. Very tart, in fact. Also a bit more funk in the taste that the aroma. There is a small amount of sweet cherry, but sour cherry definitely steals the show. Quite tasty and refreshing.

M - Completely flat, but pretty smooth and quite dry.

O - Despite the lack of carbonation, I thought this was very tasty, even more so than the regular Hanssens Kriek. Luckily for me, both the cashier and I were naive as to what this was supposed to cost, so I got it for the same price as a regular Hanssens offering. I don't know that I would pay the regular price for this, but it was pretty enjoyable.

The beer pours a deep red color with no discernible head. The aroma is a great mix of cherries with a little bit of tartness and funk. There are no sugary, syrupy notes in the aroma. The lambic funk goes very well with the tart cherries.

The flavor is also very nice. I get a very heavy cherry presence with a little bit of funk. Still, with a beer that is this young, the cherry notes are overwhelming, but there is still a nice amount of sourness. I don't get too much oak or barrel aged notes in the flavor. There is no sweetness in the beer, which is very dry. Very easy to drink.

Medium mouthfeel and almost completely flat. I think some carbonation would have helped the beer, but it was still very enjoyable. A nice, true Belgian lambic. Glad I got to try this one.

Pours a hazy dark ruby color with a cream-colored head that leaves decent lacing.

Smells of mildly dry medium malts with tart and musty cherry and currant aromas. Also present are mild amounts of vanilla and oak.

Tastes more robust than it smells. Smooth medium malts up front are joined almost immediately by moderately tart cherry and currants. Midway through hints of funk come into play before slight vanilla pushes the funk aside. Very slight oak comes in near the end, fading into a moderately tart ending. Mouthfeel is good, with soft carbonation.

Overall I really enjoyed this beer. It’s not as complex as Cantillon’s Schaerbeekse offerings but it’s not terribly far behind. Worth a shot even at the steep price.

Not really a love it or hate it thing here, the bottle I had just sort of dutifully checked off the boxes without any one outstanding feature. Apparently there are rather still bottles of this out there, but mine easily had enough carbonation. Nice cherry presence on the nose, tart, some rubber/marker phenols at first blush but those cleared up within several minutes. Color is a lovely claret, zero head, clear with a careful pour but a ton of straight up Mississippi River-level silt at the bottom of the bottle. Palate is puckery cherries, really nice flavor, no cough syrup, super light oaky funk, a touch thin maybe, and an acidic/vinegary character that grows over time. That last part is what, pardon the pun, soured me on this one. A nice kriek, but that emergent stomach acid note leaves a sour (sorry, had to do it again) taste in your mouth.

Wow, man does this one have a price tag! But it's hard to beat these well made foreign sours, and I guess I'll pay what I have to. Into the Saison Dupont Tumbler...

A - Blood red with almost no head. Kinda low-frills actually.

S - Huge cherry aroma here, no surprise, with a nice twang of bacterial acidity. I'm not really getting a whole lot else in this aroma, but the depth of the cherry flavors really is striking: Sharp cherry acidity, deep dark fruit sweetness, I swear I can smell that slight dryness of the rind in here too.

T - The flavors mirror the aroma for the most part, only much more focus on the sharp acidity in the mouth. Dry honey-like sweetness here too. Very assertive, but I don't think I'll need a antacid... yet...

M - Very low carbonation, so an unblended lambic it is. Silky mouthfeel helps balance out the prickly feel on the tongue from the acidity.

D - I have to knock the score down a bit, due to the price, but for my money, this is every bit as great of a lambic as anything I've had from Cantillon or 3 Fonteinen. Sharp acidity and big cherry flavor, but still feel like I can taste the lambic underneath. Glad I dropped the money on this one, a great way to spend the night.

Served from bottle into a Delirium Tremens snifter. Poured blood red with a very very minimal slight pink head. Maintained decent lacing throughout the glass. The aroma was comprised of sweet malt, dark fruit, and funk. The flavor was of sweet malt, dark fruit, slight sour, and slight tart. It had a light feel on the palate with no real carbonation to speak of. Overall this one might have been flat when I had it, but the flavor on it was still quite nice. In my opinion, the flavor was nicer than the aroma for sure. This one is worth trying if you are a lambic/gueze fan, but I wouldn't make this one my first of the style.

This may be my craziest rating. High in appearance and in smell and low in test, mouthfeel and drinkability.

Pours a clear medium deep cranberry red with no head but very nice looking.

Nose is initially a "gray smoke" quality, almost like the smoke from putting out a fire with water, that then develops a bit of an oak barrel nose. Goes to a white bread toast with hints of fruit. Layered, complex and appealing nose.

Mouthfeel is without carbonation; has a big sour character but without any discernable fruit or style and definitely needs more acid for my taste.

Not much "character" or flavor profile but there are undertones of sour cherry. There is a citric/sour character that you want to like but it just misses and is just lacking in most elements. Not real appealing any respect and no something that is inviting to drink.

Some carbonation would have assisted this one. Just not one you want to drink. Finish is simple citric sour with no brightness.

Blood red crimson in the glass, virtually still... other than a few larger bubbles clustered on the surface. Tiny micro carbonation rises at the edges when swirled. A "barely there" cobwebby surface skim lasts for a second, then it's gone. Looks pretty much like red wine, and for an unblended Kriek that's intentional. Bottled straight from the barrels without young lambic or priming sugar = no carbonation. On purpose.

Intense cherry flavor, juicy, very savory, sweet and tart, mellow feel. The sour level barely puckers, but it's a pleasant soft tartness that seems natural and integral to the small, sour Schaerbeek cherry. Rolling it around, the cherry intensity overwhelms much of the other nuances, but there is some tannic dryness in the finish from the oak barrel.

The stillness is traditional for an unblended lambic, and it's similar in body to Hanssens Experimental Cassis. Wine-like. Extremely savory, one to sip over the course of an hour. Worth the premium for the wild Schaerbeekse cherries, which are highly scarce and not cheap.

12.7 ounce corked and caged bottle, no date on it. Served in a tulip glass, the beer pours a hazy ruby red/purple color with no head at all. No lacing, either. Aroma is sweet and tart cherries, funk, and some oak. The taste is the same as the aroma, but not quite as nice. It's all cherries, funk and oak. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it feels flat with very low carbonation. It is pretty easy to drink. It's a decent enough brew, but it's certainly not worth the money I paid for this ($19.99 a bottle). Disappointing for the price.

Bottle: Poured a cloudy deep red color lambic with a small bubbly head with no retention or lacing. Aroma of tart notes of cherry with loads of barnyard notes. Taste is also dominated by tart notes of cherries though not as much sour notes or acidity as I was expecting. There is quite a bit of barnyard notes with some funky notes. Body is full with limited filtration and almost no carbonation. Interesting though not something I would need to have on a regular basis.

Bottle poured into a Lost Abbey tulip glass. Vigorous pour, but I couldn't form a head. Just a line of off white bubbles right at the edge of the glass along the surface. Beer is a dark red, purplish, and cloudy, with very minimal and fine carbonation visible at the glass. Some light lacing that quickly slides right back to the surface.

Nose is pungent red wine vinegar, some sour cherry, but more the skins than the fruit. Fairly strong oak presence on the nose, mingling with some light earthy barn yard funk.

Taking a sip, flavors are a bit surprising. It's not as tart as I was hoping for, more fruity cherries with just a bit of tartness similar to eating a bit of the skin. Sweeter than I was expecting, lots of juicy red cherries and red berries. A light oak tannin and cherry seed flavor on the tongue after swallowing.

Medium bodied and slight syrupy from being almost flat. Fairly easy to drink since this kriek isn't very sour. Perhaps this bottle is too fresh and it needs a few more years since I believe this beer was just released.